NEW YORK RANGERS PROSPECT REPORT

Lias Andersson registered a point in all three of the Wolf Pack’s games during the week, tallying four points (two goals, two assists) in the three contests. The Rangers’ first round pick (seventh overall) in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft recorded a “Gordie Howe Hat Trick” while celebrating his 20th birthday on Oct. 13 at Providence, as he registered one goal, one assist, and a fighting major.

By tallying a point in all three games during the week, Andersson extended his point streak to four games (two goals, four assists in the four contests), and he has registered a point in four of Hartford’s first five games this season. Andersson ranks among the AHL leaders in several categories thus far in 2018-19: he is tied for eighth in points (six), is tied for 11th in assists (four), ranks 10th in penalty minutes (13), and he is also tied for the AHL lead in shorthanded goals (one). In addition, he leads the Wolf Pack in assists, points, penalty minutes, and shots on goal (12) this season.

K’Andre Miller registered two points (one goal, one assist), recorded seven shots on goal, and posted a plus-four rating in his first two career collegiate games with the University of Wisconsin during the week. The Rangers’ first round pick (22nd overall) in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft tallied his first career collegiate goal/point, which was also his first career collegiate game-winning goal, and posted a plus-three rating while making his collegiate debut in Wisconsin’s 3-0 win against Boston College on Oct. 12. In addition, Miller notched his first career collegiate assist, tied for the team-high with five shots on goal, and posted a plus-one rating on Oct. 13 vs. Boston College.

Miller is tied for first among NCAA freshmen defensemen in game-winning goals (one), is tied for second among NCAA freshmen defensemen in goals, and is tied for third among NCAA freshmen defensemen in points, shots on goal, and plus/minus rating this season.

Igor Shesterkin earned a win and a shutout in his only appearance of the week with SKA St. Petersburg of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL), as he stopped all 32 shots he faced in SKA’s 2-0 win against Severstal on Oct. 12. The Rangers’ fourth round pick (118th overall) in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft posted a shutout for the fourth time in his last five appearances, and he has only allowed one goal over the span; he has registered a 5-0-0 record, along with a 0.20 GAA, a .992 SV% (123 saves on 124 shots), and four shutouts in those five appearances.

Shesterkin has posted a 7-0-0 record, along with a 0.71 GAA, a .972 SV% (173 saves on 178 shots), and four shutouts in seven KHL appearances in 2018-19. He leads the KHL in GAA and SV%, and he is tied for first in the KHL in shutouts thus far this season. In 74 KHL regular season appearances since the start of the 2016-17 season, Shesterkin has posted a 62-6-3 record, along with a 1.57 GAA, a .939 SV%, and 19 shutouts. In addition, Shesterkin has earned 20 shutouts in 93 career appearances (regular season and playoffs combined) with SKA St. Petersburg; he recorded his 20th career shutout with SKA St. Petersburg faster (in fewer games) than any other goaltender in KHL history; the previous record was held by Ilya Sorokin, who earned his 20th shutout with CSKA in his 106th career appearance with the team.

Tim Gettinger tallied a goal/point in each of Hartford’s first two games during the week (two goals). The Rangers’ fifth round pick (141st overall) in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft registered a point in each of his first four career AHL games (three goals, one assist), and he has recorded four points and a plus-three rating through five games this season. Gettinger leads the Wolf Pack in goals and ranks second in shots on goal (10) in 2018-19, and he also ranks third on the team (and leads team forwards) in plus/minus rating this season. He is also tied for 10th in the AHL – and is tied for second among AHL rookies – in goals in 2018-19.

Chris Bigras recorded two primary assists, posted a plus-one rating, and was selected as the game’s Second Star on Oct. 12 vs. Providence. Bigras has registered four points (one goal, three assists) and has posted a plus-eight rating in five games this season, and he leads the AHL in plus/minus rating thus far in 2018-19. Bigras is also tied for sixth among AHL defensemen in points this season. Since he was acquired by the Rangers from Colorado on Feb. 26, 2018, Bigras has tallied 17 points (three goals, 14 assists) in 23 AHL games with the Wolf Pack.

Ryan Gropp registered a goal/point in two of three games during the week. The Rangers’ second round pick (41st overall) in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft is tied for second on the Wolf Pack in goals this season. Dating back to last season, Gropp has tallied six points (five goals, one assist) in his last 10 AHL games.

John Gilmour registered the game-winning goal in Hartford’s 4-3 win against Providence on Oct. 13. Gilmour has recorded three points (two goals, one assist) in five games with the Wolf Pack this season, and he is tied for second among AHL defensemen in goals thus far in 2018-19. He split last season between the Rangers and Wolf Pack; at the time he was recalled by the Rangers from Hartford on Feb. 9, 2018, Gilmour was tied for seventh among AHL defensemen in assists (20) and points (26) in 2017-18. Gilmour represented the Wolf Pack at the 2018 AHL All-Star Classic, and he won the Fastest Skater title during the AHL All-Star Skills Competition.

Michael Lindqvist tallied a goal on Oct. 13 at Providence, and he has registered three points (two goals, one assist) in five games with Hartford this season. He is tied for second on the Wolf Pack in goals and is tied for third on the team in shots on goal (nine) in 2018-19. The 24-year-old, who signed with the Rangers as a free agent on May 2, 2018, registered 34 points (20 goals, 14 assists) in 33 games with Färjestad in the Swedish Hockey League (SHL) last season, and he led the league (min. 20 games played) in goals per game (0.61) in 2017-18.

Steven Fogarty recorded a point in two of Hartford’s three games during the week (one goal, one assist). The Rangers’ third round pick (72nd overall) in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft opened the 2018-19 season with a four-game point streak (one goal, three assists), and he is tied for second on the Wolf Pack in assists (three) and points (four) thus far this season. Fogarty registered 20 points (nine goals, 11 assists) last season with Hartford, and he made his NHL debut with the Rangers on Apr. 7, 2018 at Philadelphia.

Ville Meskanen registered an assist on Oct. 10 at Binghamton, extending his point streak to three games to start the season (one goal, two assists). The 23-year-old, who signed with the Rangers as a free agent on May 3, 2018, registered 44 points (24 goals, 20 assists) in 48 games with Ilves in Liiga last season, and ranked third in the league in goals in 2017-18.

Libor Hajek posted a plus-two rating over Hartford’s three games during the week. The 20-year-old defenseman, who was acquired by the Rangers from Tampa Bay on Feb. 26, 2018, has posted a plus-six rating through five AHL games this season, and he is tied for second in the AHL in plus/minus rating in 2018-19. In addition, Hajek is tied for first among AHL rookies – and leads AHL rookie defensemen – in plus/minus rating thus far this season.

Gabriel Fontaine notched an assist and posted a plus-two rating over Hartford’s three games during the week. The Rangers’ sixth round pick (171st overall) in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft is tied for fourth on the Wolf Pack in plus/minus rating this season (plus-two).

Joey Keane tallied a power play goal and recorded a team-high five shots on goal on Oct. 13 vs. Niagara. The Rangers’ third round pick (88th overall) in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft has registered nine points (three goals, six assists) and has posted a plus-10 rating in 10 games with the Barrie Colts of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) thus far this season, and he has notched a point in seven of the 10 games. Keane is tied for fifth in the OHL – and is tied for second among OHL defensemen – in plus/minus rating in 2018-19, and he is tied for third in the OHL in penalty minutes this season (19). In addition, he is tied for third among OHL defensemen in goals, is tied for fourth among OHL defensemen in points, and ranks fourth among OHL defensemen in shots on goal (33) thus far this season. Last season, Keane was named to the OHL’s Third All-Star Team. He registered 44 points (12 goals, 32 assists) and posted a plus-45 rating in 62 games with Barrie last season, and he ranked third in the OHL (and led OHL defensemen) in plus/minus rating in 2017-18.

Riley Hughes tallied an assist/point in both games he played this week to extend his point streak to three games (one goal, two assists over the span). The Rangers’ seventh round pick (216th overall) in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft has recorded 13 points (five goals, eight assists) in 14 games with the Victoria Grizzlies of the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL) this season, and he has also registered a point in seven of the last eight games (three goals, seven assists in the eight contests). Hughes ranks third on Victoria in goals and points, and he is also tied for third on the team in assists in 2018-19. In addition, he is tied for fifth among BCHL rookies in assists and points, and is tied for eighth among all BCHL rookies in goals this season.

Adam Huska stopped 32 of 34 shots he faced and earned a win while making his season debut with UConn on Oct. 12 against Army. The Rangers’ seventh round pick (184th overall) in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft posted a 2.59 GAA and a .912 SV% in 27 appearances with UConn last season, and he allowed two goals or fewer in 17 of those 27 appearances in 2017-18.

Nico Gross tallied his first goal of the season on Oct. 14 vs. Hamilton. The Rangers’ fourth round pick (101st overall) in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft has notched two points (one goal, one assist) and has posted a plus-three rating in eight games with the Oshawa Generals of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) this season, and he has registered both points over the last four games. Gross is tied for third on Oshawa – and is tied for first among team defensemen – in plus/minus rating thus far in 2018-19. He was named to the OHL Second All-Rookie Team last season, as he recorded 14 points (four goals, 10 assists) in 58 games with the Generals.

Tyler Wall stopped 25 of 26 shots he faced to earn a win and was selected as the game’s Third Star while making his season debut in UMass-Lowell’s 2-1 win against RIT on Oct. 12. The Rangers’ sixth round pick (174th overall) in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft appeared in 12 games with UMass-Lowell last season, and he posted a 2.55 GAA and a .910 SV% over his final six appearances of the 2017-18 season.

Morgan Barron registered two points (one goal, one assist), led all skaters with seven shots on goal, and posted a plus-one rating in Cornell’s exhibition game on Oct. 13 against Laurentian University. The Rangers’ sixth round pick (174th overall) in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft registered 18 points (five goals, 13 assists) and a plus-10 rating during his freshman year at Cornell in 2017-18, and he received the Greg Ratushny Award as Cornell’s most promising rookie player, as selected by his teammates.

“Lias has been coming to the rink with the mindset of continuing to get better every day and he has been playing well as of late. He has done a better job of consistently keeping his feet moving and supporting pucks and, as a result, he’s been able to capitalize on his scoring chances. He has been putting in the work, spending time with me reviewing his shifts back, and he has also been doing extra off-ice workouts in the gym.” – Hartford Wolf Pack Head Coach Keith McCambridge on Lias Andersson

“We knew what we got there. He’s had a great six weeks in practice and he deserved to be on the ice to start (the game), and obviously (his goal) was a big goal for us. I think he brings so much to our team; I think he’s really hard to play against because of his physical strength and his skating ability, and he’s able to defend as well as any player. He’s got a bright future.” – University of Wisconsin Head Coach Tony Granato on K’Andre Miller following his collegiate debut (Credit: Wisconsin Hockey)

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